Chapter 127: He Had Overdone It

The Marches Channel was already lively.

[Riftward Lord: I earned a little over eight thousand points yesterday. I hope I haven’t let everyone down.]

The boast drew an immediate response.

[Riftward Lord: Eight thousand? You must have killed over a thousand monsters!]

[Riftward Lord: I’ve always liked fighting and swordsmanship. The equipment Seraphine handed out helped a lot too.]

[Riftward Lord: Are you hunting in a higher-Level area? Be careful out there.]

[Riftward Lord: Thanks. I will.]

Everyone seemed to be getting along well.

[Gareth Halvern: At this rate, our Marches should have at least eighty million points.]

[Mira Calder: More than that. We have quite a few strong Lords.]

[Tobias Reed: If we make the top fifteen today, we can try pushing into the reward places.]

Elara’s video request arrived.

"You’re still at sea?"

She looked past him at the ship, then leaned closer with a secretive smile.

"Guess how many points I earned."

Cassian considered it.

"Six hundred thousand?"

"Over eight hundred thousand!"

"You worked through the night, didn’t you?"

The Life Essence Elara had used had raised her Aptitude to C and filled in the growth she had missed. Her attributes were now comparable to an Epic Hero’s. With good equipment on top of that, she could comfortably hunt fifteen Levels above her own. Twenty was possible too, as long as she was careful.

"It’s the first day. I wanted to work hard and give everyone a little confidence."

She yawned.

"What about you? With all your attribute rewards, hunting twenty-five Levels above you shouldn’t be difficult."

"Me?" Cassian thought for a moment. "A little over a hundred million."

Elara rolled her eyes.

"Can’t you give me a straight answer?"

They chatted for a while longer. Then she glanced away.

"It’s about to refresh."

He could hear the tension in her voice.

At noon, the standings updated.

Cassian stared.

"I overdid it."

[Personal Lord Kill Points — Marches Standings]

[1. Riftward Marches — 268,000,000]

[2. Coldridge Marches — 242,000,000]

[3. Ashvale Marches — 225,000,000]

[4. Greybridge Marches — 221,000,000]

The Marches Channel erupted.

[Rowan Ashford: Can someone tell me what just happened?]

[Tobias Reed: I can. We’re first.]

[Rowan Ashford: ...]

[Riftward Lord: Mira, when you said we had quite a few strong Lords, how many did you mean?]

Mira was just as confused as everyone else. As Civil Deputy, however, she could hardly admit that now.

[Mira Calder: Riftward has plenty of hidden talent. How else do you think we beat ten times our number in Black Banner Lords?]

She would have a good talk with Cassian afterward.

Her vague answer worked surprisingly well.

[Riftward Lord: We must have at least a hundred people who can fight twenty Levels above themselves!]

[Riftward Lord: So our strongest Lords had a plan all along.]

[Riftward Lord: If we win, our Region will finally get Fortune too!]

[Riftward Lord: Don’t celebrate yet. This is only the first day.]

[Riftward Lord: Right. Keep working, everyone. We can’t leave it all to them.]

Their spirits rose at once.

Darian and Seraphine said nothing. Both had some idea of how much strength the Marches actually possessed. Almost at the same moment, they thought of Cassian.

Nessa suddenly joined in.

[Nessa Fenwick: I earned a million points. Have you heard me boasting?]

Cassian smiled at the message.

"Clever girl."

From what he knew of Nessa’s personal strength, ten thousand would have been a fine result for her. She had already started muddying the waters for him.

His own score was roughly a hundred and forty million.

He had only wanted to see how far a full day’s effort could bring Riftward toward the other Marches. Instead, he had carried them straight into first place.

On the screen, Elara finally recovered. She rubbed her eyes, checked the standings again, and looked up at him.

"You... that hundred million... You weren’t joking?"

Cassian put on a serious expression.

"Time to help keep everyone guessing, Elara."

"But a hundred million points... How far above your Level were you fighting?"

She finally accepted what she was seeing, then sighed.

"Nessa caught on faster than I did."

"We aren’t the only surprise." Cassian looked at second place. "I remember Coldridge having only four hundred thousand Lords. Now it’s second, ahead of Ashvale. That’s our biggest rival."

Ashvale had been the first Marches on Tidecrown to elect a Commander. Coldridge had overtaken it anyway.

Elara nodded.

"A lot of Beacon League Lords use nanotechnology to strengthen their bodies. It limits their later growth, but the power it gives them early on is real."

——

Coldridge was in uproar.

[Coldridge Lord: A quarter of our Lords have undergone nanotech modification. How did we lose to a place with only a few tens of thousands of people?]

[Coldridge Lord: I heard they have a Valcrest who specializes in personal combat.]

[Coldridge Lord: One War Lord can only earn a few million points.]

[Coldridge Lord: That depends on the Lord. The points double every five Levels. Someone fighting thirty Levels above themselves could earn nearly a thousand from one monster.]

[Coldridge Lord: And don’t forget Cassian. His Ranking rewards gave him hundreds of points in every attribute.]

Adrian’s face darkened as he read the discussion.

Yesterday, he had mocked Riftward. Today, it had slapped him in the face.

"Damn Cassian. Damn Riftward."

First place meant ten Fortune for his own Region and a hundred points in every attribute for himself.

Personal combat was the Beacon League’s strength. With only four hundred thousand Lords, Coldridge might never get another chance this good.

After a moment’s thought, he sent a rousing message to his Marches.

[Adrian Wolfe: My friends, whatever the reason for their score, Riftward is now our greatest rival. If we want first place, we all need to hunt harder. Start now.]

Then he posted a recruitment notice in the Province Channel.

[Adrian Wolfe: Coldridge is hiring Lords who specialize in personal combat. Generous pay. I will cover the Advanced Relocation Writ. Send me an image of your attributes if you’re interested. Thank you.]

Daigo Ashen appeared almost immediately.

[Daigo Ashen: Riftward must have used powerful consumables, such as magic scrolls, to take a temporary lead. With your nanotech enhancements, I have every confidence that Coldridge will win in the end.]

Adrian found that much more pleasant to read.

[Adrian Wolfe: Thank you for your confidence, Commander Daigo.]

Then Daigo continued.

[Daigo Ashen: If I were Cassian, I would leave first place to you. You’re allies, after all.]

Adrian paused.

The man was trying to turn them against one another. He knew that perfectly well.

He also liked what he was hearing.

[Adrian Wolfe: Unfortunately, not everyone is as reasonable as you.]

Colonel Mercer had been watching the exchange in silence. His expression turned ugly.

"He’s only just allied with us, and he’s already making eyes at Black Banner!"